Media Pluralism at risk in Europe: CMPF Research Findings

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) has released the 2016 edition of the Media Pluralism Monitor, one of the principal measures of the risks to media pluralism in Europe. The Monitor has examined 30 European countries in 2016 and the results show that none of these countries is free from risks.

“There is much room for improvement when it comes to protection from commercial and political interference in the media, and access to media for women and minorities“, says the director of the CMPF Pier Luigi Parcu. While most of the countries in general enjoy Basic regulatory safeguards for the media, some erosion to freedom of expression and protection to journalists can be analysed in one third of the countries. The worst scenario for basic protections is analysed in Turkey. Only a few countries score low risk in the areas of Political independence, Market plurality and Social inclusiveness.

The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a tool that helps policymakers, researchers, and civil society to understand the threat to media pluralism in different media systems through research, analysis and the comparison of country data.

Media ownership is highly concentrated and this constitute a significant barrier to diversity of information and viewpoints represented in media content

The lack of transparency of media ownership is a reality in many countries, which makes it difficult for the public to understand the biases in media content

Editorial autonomy stands as one the most vulnerable aspects of media systems, susceptible to both commercial and political influences

Many of the media authorities across Europe face strong political pressures, in particular when it comes to appointment procedures and composition of authorities

The majority of countries show significant risks concerning media literacy by having no or underdeveloped media literacy policy, and by dedicating limited efforts to teaching media literacy in and outside schools

Many of the minorities residing in the EU do not have adequate access to media, and community media is non-existent in several countries

None of the countries scored low risk on the representation of women as subjects and sources in news, which indicates that women might be heavily underrepresented in media across Europe

The Monitor assesses the risks for media pluralism based on a set of twenty indicators covering four different areas:

All types of media are covered: public service, commercial and community media. Moreover, the monitor recognises that different policies and regulatory approaches may apply to different types of media (e.g. broadcasting, print and new media).

Browse the MPM2017 report by country, through a series of visualizations.

Be the first to commenton "Media Pluralism at risk in Europe: CMPF Research Findings"

SEENPM

SEENPM promotes excellence in journalism through policy initiatives, research and training in South East European countries. It aims to support the development of independent media and strengthen relations among journalists.

* - References to Kosovo are without prejudice to positions on
status. They are in line with United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1244/99 and the opinion by the International Court of
Justice on the Kosovo declaration of independence.